I'm surprised people think that it's ok because girls used to get married very young back in the day. Yes it was common back then but it also meant many children and young girls were left vulnerable to all kinds of abuse without anyone speaking out for them. The reality is that this guy in showing romantic interest towards a girl he has known and mentored since the age of 8, and she is still a child which makes it an abuse of power and trust. An adult has power over a child and most children are taught to respect an obey adults and as a mentor he is in a position of trust. The fact that he's been in her life means he was in a position of great influence to her around the times she was still vulnerable. This means she's at high risk of being manipulated into going along with what he wants because she trusts him and he holds an important position in her life. My question is why couldn't they maintain a friendship until she is at least old enough? Why this need to qualify their relationship as something more? And the countdown is nothing but creepy, almost like he has not considered she might ever grow up, change and want to end the relationship.

I could not say it better myself. For it may be true that we all mature at different rates and stages in life, how many of you can say for a fact that a twelve year old is mentally and physically prepared for what a twenty-four year old has to deal with? Although we cannot judge on how one may choose to love another, this guy is a total (Censored) for exposing her to the public like this. How many of you believe that a twelve year old is able to handle the public comments and discussions about her personal life? Many teenagers today, can't even handle the comments from peers (including hazing/bullying/harassment/etc), what makes you (those who believe it is okay for this relationship to exist) think it is okay for this relationship to exist?

The relationship, I can understand, but will not accept.
The media coverage and openness about the relationship is a selfish act, and his career deserves to crash and burn for that, especially if he's trying to use this to boost his popularity.

I really dont know what to say at this moment but that you couldnt really judge them based off the fact that she young. My mom was 16 when she got married to my dad ad guess what, he was 36

It's not the age difference that concerns me. If she were 16 and he were 28 it wouldn't be an issue. My issue with it is that she's 12, he's 24, and he's in a position of power as her mentor.

Unbalanced relationships are seldom healthy to begin with, throw in the fact that she almost certainly hasn't developed enough mentally yet to have a romantic relationship with an adult, and the fact that they're evidently counting down to the age he can bang her and the whole thing comes across as extremely creepy to me. Young minds are very malleable, he's in a position to basically mold her into what he wants her to be.

I really dont know what to say at this moment but that you couldnt really judge them based off the fact that she young. My mom was 16 when she got married to my dad ad guess what, he was 36

It's not the age difference that concerns me. If she were 16 and he were 28 it wouldn't be an issue. My issue with it is that she's 12, he's 24, and he's in a position of power as her mentor.

Unbalanced relationships are seldom healthy to begin with, throw in the fact that she almost certainly hasn't developed enough mentally yet to have a romantic relationship with an adult, and the fact that they're evidently counting down to the age he can bang her and the whole thing comes across as extremely creepy to me. Young minds are very malleable, he's in a position to basically mold her into what he wants her to be.

That completely depends on how mature she is. When I was 12, i was doing work that would probably be frowned upon for my age but it didnt change a thing i stil did it. If she is as mature as an 18 year old, thinks like a 18 year old and acts like a 18 year old than its cool.

Still. i understand that if he would do anything wrong to her it could devistate the life of someone that young.

That completely depends on how mature she is. When I was 12, i was doing work that would probably be frowned upon for my age but it didnt change a thing i stil did it. If she is as mature as an 18 year old, thinks like a 18 year old and acts like a 18 year old than its cool.

Still. i understand that if he would do anything wrong to her it could devistate the life of someone that young.

I'm going to quote LosingOrbit because she said it better than I could have.

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LosingOrbitwrote:
Um, having a lot of responsibilities doesn't change the fact that you're still under aged, neither does it make you immune to the same naivety experienced from your other peers. When I was 12, I was placed into a lot of otherwise adult situations and thus, thought I knew everything. Yet emotionally I was not ready for what life threw at me. I still needed my mother and the help of adults around me. Though my mentality was different than most children my age, I was still a 12 year old girl, who did 12 year old things and had much to learn about the world around her.

So the point is, though a person's mentality may be higher than their chronological age, that does not mean that they'll act any more "mature" or "wiser" than their actual age.

As for this article, I doubt the 12-year-old girl truly knows what she's doing, nor what she wants. Most girls that age don't understand the complexity that comes with both sexual and romantic relationships. You must have the mentally to deal with it and at her current age, I doubt it. Yet the man on the other hand knows exactly what he's doing and that makes it even worst.

My situation forced me to grow up fast too, I understood things no 12 year old should understand. Emotionally though I was still a 12 year old girl who didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did.